Liar's Dice
A Game of Chance and Challenge Liar's Dice is an exceptionally popular game played all throughout Lancerus. The game is a mix of strategy, chance and bluffing your opponents. To play, you need 1 cup per player and 5 six-sided dice per player. The game is played in rounds. Each round, players roll their dice inside of their cup and then quickly flip the cup down on to the table. Players keep their now rolled dice secret from everyone but themselves. In turn, each player then makes a bet on how many of a specific dice face are on the table. Although they can only see their own dice, they are betting for ALL player's dice. When betting, the table has to have at LEAST the number of dice that you bet for you to be safe. If it has more, you are still safe (you bet eleven 3's and are there are fourteen 3's). However, if you are short (you bet seven 6's and there are only five 6's), then you are not safe. At a certain point in play, a player will be called out on their bet, usually with the phrase, "Liar!" or "Bullshit!" or some eloquent equivalent. Depending on the rule set, this can be anyone or the next player in line to bet. If you were indeed lying and the other player called your bluff, you lose at least one die, the other player may gain a reward, and a new round begins. Usually when one player has lost all of their dice the game ends. Although there are many variations of Liar's Dice played throughout the realm, they share these rules in common: # Face value 1 is wild. Though some rare versions of the game allow 1's to be their own bet, all known versions use 1's towards the count of whatever face value is currently being bet on. If a player proclaims that there are eight 4's on the table, then both 4's and 1's are counted towards this total. # You can cheat the rules, but you can't cheat death. Get caught playing unfair and you will find little mercy. Despite its rough beginnings, Liar's Dice is an honored pastime and, in some parts of the world, a gentleman's game. # Each player is allowed one mulligan per game if they botch a cup roll (a die slides loose, they accidentally re-roll mid-game, etc.). After that, any botched rolls cause the player to forfeit 2 dice. # Drinking while playing is encouraged. # At the table, all men are equal in Ruukina's eyes. This is a game of revelry, chance and passion. Kings, knights, serfs, merchants, peasants, adventurers, outlaws, and many others are all welcome at the Table of Chance and Challenge. # Godsbet is an alternative to a standard bet. Playing a Godsbet is a risky move and immediately ends the round, no need for Liar being called. When making a Godsbet, the player is betting that there are EXACTLY the number of dice of a face value on the table. If they are over or under by any amount, the Godsbet fails. Each ruleset treats Godsbet's rewards and failures differently, but they are always powerful if used correctly... or dooming if used poorly. King's Rules This is the rule set played in the northern reaches of Lancerus such as Oden, Gildor, and some northern settlements of Larkenvale. This version is the newest iteration of the game though it has become wildly popular. Played all along the King's Road, the game found its greatest home in Valrose. After each successive Tournament of Champions, this ruleset spread further. Most Lancers now consider this version to be the best way to play the game. Each player rolls their dice in the cup and enters play with a rolled set. Players decide who goes first. Bets begin at any face value with face 1 always being wild. 1 cannot be its own bet. Bets can only increase the number of the same face or go to a different face. When moving up to a different face, the number of dice being bet in play must stay the same or increase. For example: Calicana bets three 2's on her turn. Betting moves to Ferrus. Ferrus can either say a higher number of 2's, or she can say the same number or more of 3's, 4's, 5's, or 6's (three 3's, four 3's, five 5's...). Play continues clockwise. Only the next person in line can call liar on the previous bet (though table heckling is obviously encouraged). If the current betting is on face 6, the next person in line can go back down to face 2 under the following circumstances: - They can only go back down to face value 2 - They MUST say a higher number of face value 2 than 6 The winner of each round begins the next round. A successful Godsbet nets the winner: +1 die, take 1/2 of the pot that round OR every other player loses 1 die if not playing with a pot A failed Godsbet inflicts the penalty of: -2 dice, no return on bet money Play ends when one player has lost their last die or the buy-in is too expensive for all but one player. If, at the end of a round, not all safe players can retrieve their buy-in evenly, they take as much as they can while being fair and the rest carries over to the next round. Common Gambling Method with the King's Rules Players must buy in to each round. Generally the winner of the previous round determines the cost of play for the next one. All players submit their coins to the center to prove they have the funds to play. When a round is over, all players who are safe regain their coins back. The winner of the round gains the loser's coins as well. Play continues in this fashion until one player has lost all of their dice or the buy-in for the table becomes too expensive for all but one player. Whither Rules Despite the growing popularity of the King's Rules in the north, those who live on the coast of the Ember Sea or in the southern reaches of Arn and the surrounding islands still prefer the Whither Rules. Some sailors call it Wicked Six in reference to the way bidding works. Each player rolls their dice in the cup and enters play with a rolled set. Players decide who goes first. Bets always begin at face 2 with face 1 always being wild. 1 cannot be its own bet. Bets can either increase the dice count of the current face or go up one face value (from 2 to 3, for example). When players reach face 6, there is no going back. Bets at 6 can only increase from there. If the round ends on a bid of face 6, all penalties and victory rewards are doubled. Play continues clockwise. ANY player can call Liar at the betting player at any time. So long as the next person in line has not yet made a bet, Liar called must still be honored. If multiple people call Liar at once, there are allowed to be multiple winners or losers, depending on the outcome. The loser of each round begins the next round. A successful Godsbet nets the winner: +2 dice A failed Godsbet inflicts the penalty of: -4 dice Play ends when one player has lost their last die OR one player reaches 9 dice. Whoever has the most dice at the end of the game is the winner, with second and third place coming in behind. Common Gambling Method with the Whither Rules The King's Rules are played in Rounds with each round having its own pot; the Whither Rules have one massive pot that is given out to the winners at the end of the entire game. Each player offers something of equivalent value (currency, trinkets, weapons, etc.) before beginning play. All players must give of roughly equivalent value (although sometimes players can get in on a game with less to offer the pool so long as they start with less dice). When the game has ended, the winner takes 1/2 of the pool. Second and third place then split the remaining half. Any other players get nothing. Tournament Rules (Modified King) In the world of Liar's Dice, many have begun to fancy the pastime as a proper gentleman's game. When playing in Tournaments, such as the Liar's Dice Tourney of Valrose, these are the rules most commonly used. Assume players are using the King's Rules variant with the following modifications: # No gold is used. The only "currency" are the dice themselves. # Loser of any round forfeits one die # A player can only call Godsbet once per game # A successful Godsbet nets the player +1 die OR all other players lose 1 die, player decides # Players may "pass". A player can only call pass if each of their remaining dice is a different value. They can only call pass once per round. If they call pass they can be challenged, just like a dice roll. # In the rare instance that the final two players each only have 1 die remaining, regular betting is suspended (though Godsbet can still be called). Rather, players bet on the SUM of the 2 dice remaining. # Play continues until only 1 player remains